Never mind that Carmen Vargas relies on a walker to steady herself. At age 87, Vargas has landed in a new, safe and comfortable place to live.

Her apartment is one of 52 energy-efficient, one- and two-bedroom units housed in Salinas Gateway Senior Apartments, a newly built complex at 25 Lincoln Ave. While this week marked Gateway’s official opening, Vargas had been the first to move in. That was back on Nov. 4th. Now all the units are spoken for, according to First Community Housing, FCH, of San Jose, the developers.

“My grandmother really likes this apartment,” said Islea Villafuerte, Vargas’ granddaughter. “She likes that the bathroom is handicapped-equipped. She likes that there are emergency pull-downs. She has a huge patio and a heavy front door. It’s all quiet, clean and well-lighted.”

This week, also, a second large affordable housing effort opened in Salinas. That would be 2 Haciendas Place, 245 Calle Cebu (at Sherwood). 2 Haciendas Place is the second phase of a multi-phase project that opens affordable housing to 46 families. All units in 2 Haciendas Place are energy-efficient. All are affordable to families earning up to 60 percent of AMI, the Area Median Income.

The $18 million-plus project was developed by the Monterey County Housing Authority Development Corporation, HDC. Hope is that 2 Haciendas Place will also help stimulate redevelopment of the nearby, downtrodden Chinatown, which sits across Sherwood Drive, said Starla Warren, HDC’s CEO.

In addition to 2 Hacienda Place’s housing units, a community center has been built on the 2.46-acres site. The center is named for Maria J. Torres-Gil, who raised her nine children for 15 years in one of the old Haciendas units. Torres-Gil was also a founding member of the Monterey County Housing Advisory Committee. The community center is open to all of the development’s residents. It features a picnic area, two children’s play areas, laundry rooms and a computer lab as well as property management offices.

The other new effort, the Salinas Gateway Senior Apartments, is a $20 million project. It targets people ages 55 and older with 30-to-60 percent AMI. Also, 25 units are for the chronically ill. The Monterey County Department of Social and Employment Services will provide in-home supportive services for those who are eligible.

“Frail seniors, for example, or those with disabilities, people who need a certain amount of help per week,” said Jeff Oberdorfer, FCH’s executive director.

Carmen Vargas is one-such. Her daughter Hermila Lopez serves as Vargas’ caregiver and also lives in the new unit. Villafuerte works but stops by frequently to visit her grandmother and to help the elderly woman with bathing, she said. Vargas’ apartment sits at the end of a long, newly carpeted hallway. Take a step or two to the right and push open the heavy, slow-swinging door. A large private patio extends off the living room. Soft yellow sunlight warms its expansive deck.

Architecturally, Gateway on Lincoln Avenue makes its visual presence known in a pleasant way with its reassuringly sturdy, modern lines. Importantly, the “green,” environmentally-savvy structure replaces what once was a weed-strewn patch of urban ugliness. Some 3,000-square-feet of street-level retail space are also part of the Gateway complex.

“Our first goal for Gateway is providing affordable housing for seniors,” said Grace Aston, planning manager of the housing division in the City.

FCH has been in the business for 25 years. Gateway, a 75,650 square foot structure, is its first project in Salinas, Oberdorfer said.

“We need as much affordable housing as we can get, and this will help,” he said.

Residents, visitors and clients can park on-site.

Being “green” means non-toxic, Oberdorfer said. It means a building that offers environmentally-friendly features, Oberdorfer said. Many of those features can cut operating costs at the same time they provide a healthy environment in which to live and work. For example, Gateway’s “living roof.” It features organic vegetation, which filters rainwater before that waters trickles into and pollutes the storm drain. Or the Energy Star appliances, drought-tolerant landscaping, energy-efficient windows, low-flow bathroom and kitchen fixtures and so on.

“Focus is on healthy living, lower operating expenses and reducing automobile use,” Gateway says on its website. “Healthy living for our tenants starts by giving consideration to indoor air quality. Finishes such as paints and adhesives … have low volatile compound make-up, meaning low off-gassing, properties that keep tenants and staff from breathing and absorbing toxic fumes that can otherwise cause harm to their health.”

At 2 Haciendas Place apartments have also been designed to produce only minimal impact on the environment, Warren said. For example, solar efforts offset all common area energy usage as well as 50 percent of the tenant’s energy usage, she said.

When all Haciendas phases are complete, it will contain 160 units. Next up, focus shifts to 3 Haciendas Place to be across Sherwood Drive from 1 and 2.

“This really is all about community revitalization,” Warren told The Salinas Californian in a previous interview.